Monday - Memorial Day

Monday, Memorial Day we were lounging around the house. It was a rainy day and we didn't have anything on the agenda. Here are a couple of cute photos of Oliver with his bongo drum.

Brian, Stephanie, Lauren and Kaden had left early that morning so that Stephanie could run the 10K Boulder Bolder. They were planning to leave after the race to head back to Sheridan, WY. We got a call at 1 PM that Kaden had an accident and was in the hospital in Boulder with a head injury. We rushed right up to Boulder to see them. Kaden was OK that evening and they all came back to our house to stay one more night. It was nice to have them here and see them another day before they headed home. We were all very glad that Kaden was OK.

This is Lauren, Oliver and Keith playing in the crib in Kaden's room. (Kaden was in the bed)

Kaden being silly with a shirt on his head on Monday night. He went home with a bruise on his head, but it is covered with the shirt in this photo. This was probably the first time all weekend that he stood still for a photo!!

Day at the Zoo

This past weekend Keith's brother Brian, his wife Stephanie and their kids Lauren and Kaden were in town. We took them to the zoo on Saturday and we all had a great time. I think that Oliver and Lauren were more entertained by each other than the animals. I don't know anyone who can make Oliver giggle as much as Lauren. He just loves her to pieces. Here are a couple of photos and a video of Oliver giggling at Lauren.

Laundry Day

The bad part about both Keith and I working so much (besides missing Oliver all day) is that laundry seems to be never ending and it piles up out of nowhere! The best part about laundry is that Oliver isn't mobile yet and he is quite content sitting amongst the sorting piles. I thought these were too cute not to share of Oliver "helping". Notice, he is wearing "Daddy's little helper" on his P.J.'s.

Back Yard Project

We have decided to take out the flower beds in the back yard. They are a nightmare to weed and the wood is starting to fall apart. The unfortunate part is we don't really know what we're in for since the people who owned the house before us put them in. Keith has been anxious to take them out since we moved in. We made a deal that he would take them out if I entertained Oliver for a couple of weekends. Here are some "before" pictures. Hopefully in a few weeks we'll have some "after" pictures. We expect it to take the next couple of months to get the exact plants we want to put in, but hopefully it is done by this fall. We are also planning to put in a water feature of some sort. Keith said since I'm not doing the work it is up to him to design it. This is driving me crazy, of course, since I'm such a planner. BUT... I suppose it's worth the trade off to not have to tear all of this out. However, I will be sure to get my two cents in along the way, especially if I'm at the nursery when he is buying the plants. AH HA!!!

I saw Keith doing this when I was in the kitchen. I thought it was quite ingenious so I took a picture. He says that this is how it used to be done before tractors. Hmm... not so sure about that, but I bought into it. Good thing I married an engineer to impress me with this kind of stuff!!!

There are a total of three flower beds (weeding nightmares) equipped with sprinklers and lights. Hopefully our vision of what will this space will become is as good as we think it will be and we won't miss any of this. (By the way... it is also heaven for neighborhood snakes which I will NOT miss)

Sheridan Visit

Last weekend we took our first trip up to Sheridan, WY with Oliver. It is about a 7 hour drive only taking short stops. It took us 8 hours to get there since we stopped for dinner. On the way home we had a shorter lunch stop and then a much needed stop in the middle of nowhere. Oliver was a champ on the trip up, but was quite upset about being in his car seat for so long on the ride home so we had to take an impromptu stop in Carr, CO. We have no idea what is in Carr since we didn't see anything but fields, but it helped to get Oliver out of the car. He liked watching the trucks drive by on I-25. The visit in Sheridan was very nice and Oliver did very well. He charmed everyone with his contagious smile. We are planning to go up again in July. Hopefully he is a little happier for the drive home. Here are some photos from the trip.

Oliver meeting his cousins Lauren and Kaden with Aunt Stephanie for the first time. He LOVED them!

Lauren showing off her Hannah Montana shades with Uncle Keith

Kaden, Aunt Carrie and Lauren

Mom and Oliver

We escaped for a few hours and played some golf with Keith's Dad. It was extremely windy, but it was a beautiful day and we had a great time.

Nana with Oliver

Oliver peeking at Mom over Dad's shoulder

Oliver peeking at Mom over Dad's shoulder

Oliver with Aunt Stephanie

Oliver with Great Grand Dad Hamilton

Keith playing with Kaden and Lauren

Uncle Keith and Lauren

Getting ready to leave, Oliver with Nana and Papa

You would think that we packed for a week!

Oliver's smile, one of the few we saw on the ride home.

A much needed stop in Carr, CO, just over the WY/CO state border. Oliver was SO glad to be out of the car in Carr.

Mothers Day

Here are some photos from Mothers Day. We had a great day that started with lunch on the patio at PF Changs. Yum! We stopped at the mall for a couple of errands and then after Oliver took a nap we went hiking behind Red Rocks. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Keith, Carrie and Oliver on the patio at PF Changs

I call this the "tough guy" pose

Is this like "Horton Hears a Who"? Oliver Hears his Sock?! Or maybe he thinks he will hear something like you hear the ocean in a sea shell. Who knows?!

Oliver is SO exited to be a the mall he is standing in excitement. Well... not really, but it sounds more entertaining that way.Oliver is saddled up and ready for his first hike. We wanted something close to home and short since it was our first time out with Oliver so we went behind Red Rocks.

Keith and Oliver on the trail.

Family self portrait: We are getting talented at getting all three of us in the shot, smiles and all!

Oliver's Flower

I am getting behind on my weekend post, but I'm hoping to get caught up tomorrow before we head to Sheridan, WY. I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Oliver last week. This was his art project that he brought home from school. Can you see how his face is the middle of the flower. It made me laugh it was so darn cute. Oliver REALLY liked tearing at the tissue paper so I couldn't wait for a smile. I had to take the photo really quick and then get this out of his hands. For Mothers Day he brought home one where he is the middle of a yellow flower. I didn't take a photo of it, but it is just as cute. Stay tuned for more updates with photos from Mothers Day. (I know, the suspense is probably killing you, HA)

Christmas in May

Oliver didn't need much at Christmas, so Grandma and Grandpa Garner got him some toys that he could grow in to. The time has come to break them out and he loves them. Check out his driving skills. I thought he was a CRAZY DRIVER! Keith said that he learned it from me. I guess Keith has never noticed what a maniac he is driving his BMW with the top down.

Sunday at the Zoo

We spent the afternoon at the zoo. It was a nice sunny day and we had a great time. I love the zoo in the spring. There are are always new baby animals and the animals are ready to perform. I know, they are probably performing for mating season, but it makes for an exiting visit. The big hit this time was the bears. The black bears were splashing and swimming in the water. The grizzlies were pacing and playing. Oliver loved it. He also liked the penguins and sea lions, which we were just in time for the sea lion show. Another big hit was the birds. There is a bird exhibit that you can walk into and the birds fly all around you. It is also a good place to get pooped on, which we managed to avoid. Just like last time, Oliver also liked the geese and the peacocks. There were several goslings and it was fun to watch the mom and dad geese with their babies. One set of parents were teaching their one gosling to move along through the park. It was quite cute. I'm not sure who the peacocks were trying to impress since we only saw one female, but we saw at least 8 peacocks with their feathers fanned out. It was quite exiting. Oliver even saw a peacock strut right in front of the stroller and he really got a "birds eye view" of the big bird.

This is Oliver loaded up and ready to roll in his hat from his Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Brian and cousins Lauren and Kaden. It is special from Sheridan, WY. I think he wore it proudly and it really showed off his blue eyes!

We missed feeding time for several of the animals. However, we had our own feeding time at the zoo!

So happy to have a belly full of apple sauce!

Keith and Oliver, showing off Oliver's shirt. He truly does have the Worlds Greatest Dad. How many Dads do you know that would change a diaper in the back of the jeep AND feed apple sauce at the zoo?!

Saturday at Julie and Alex's

Saturday afternoon we were at Julie and Alex's. Here are a couple of photos from their house.

This is Katie and Oliver. Oliver is always happy when he is hanging out with Katie. He loved her bright shirt!

Oliver chillin' in his bouncy chair with the Moose

I love this photos of Oliver looking at Keith.

Friday Night Trivia

Last night we went to Jen and Craig's for a game of trivia. I am proud to say that the girls won! As we like to say, Have PJ's, Will Travel! We put Oliver in his cozy PJ's and he was set for the big night.

Oliver is not a big fan of standing, but Craig must have the magic touch because he got him upright on his feet.

Oliver trying on Craig's scooter helmet. I think he likes it!

Bellied up, ready for trivia!

Oliver's turn to read the question.

Oliver and Craig saying hello

Saturday morning we slept in and lounged around.

This is Madalyn and Oliver facing off.

Sneak Sniff by Madalyn

Oliver giving Madalyn a little attention. It always surprises me that she doesn't run away.